Ivan Miletić, a Zagreb-based historian, recently sent me the text to edit for a forthcoming book, Croatians in America: A Photo Monograph (see the below post, “Croatians in America: A Photomonograph,” for more information).
I’ve just received news that the book will in fact be divided into two editions, with the first edition being published later this year. It will chronicle photographs of prominent and famous Croatian-Americans, as well as lesser known Croatian immigrants like my grandfather, who worked in the steel mills and then joined the Navy, where he subsequently fought in both World Wars for the United States. Ivan Vuković was born on 27 August 1887 in Švarča donja (lower Švarča) in Karlovac, Croatia. Our family is honored that Ivan will be included in the book.
My father has been gathering photographs of his father for possible inclusion in the book, and I thought I’d include my favorite here. This photo was likely taken prior to 1920 because Ivan Vuković can be found in the 1920 U.S. Census on the U.S. Destroyer Renshaw. One of the duties as a torpedoman was to dive to the sea bottom to retrieve sunken torpedoes that had been fired for practice.
The inscription on the back of the below photo, handwritten by my grandfather, reads:
This picture was taken in the stern of our diving boat just before I made my final dive. Note the helmet in my hands. This is the last thing that goes on diver before he goes down. The air is supplied to the helmet and suit through this hose you see hanging down. This is charged with air by hand pump or compressed air out of air flask. Qualification dive was 60 feet. I had 6 dips. My first 3 were 18-20-30 and my next 3 were 70-72-80.
